67. Chrebl Household Fortification Conference A.K.A. Edvice (1)

Chester-niisan, Alfred-tousan, and Julia-kaasan all repeated in confusion.

“Yup. This time I was abducted by <Yatagarasu> without opposing them so it ended up with nobody getting hurt, but to put it bluntly, we were just lucky.
So that this kind of thing doesn’t happen in the future, I think it’s important for everyone to hone themselves, not just me.”

“That’s true but… we won’t get stronger that quickly, right?”

Said Alfred-tousan.

“I don’t think that’s the case though?
Calling it ‘stronger’ might be a little misleading, but if you can acquire some skills to cover a few blind spots, I think it would make quite a difference.
――Dad, how many skills do you think I have right now?”

“If I remember correctly, there were twenty-six when Father Solow showed us it, wasn’t there?
Even that was plenty numerous, but you should have learnt some in <Yatagarasu> so… about thirty?”

“T-Thirty!?”

Moria-san cried out in astonishment.
Speechless, Hoffman-san also opened his eyes wide.

“No, it’s still too early to be surprised.
It depends on how you count it, but generally speaking, I reached seventy-one at one point.”

“Seventy….!”

Moria-san was also at a loss for words.
The other members present――Julia-kaasan, Chester-niisan, Elemia, Donna, Miguel, Beck, and Grandpa Ganash all stared in wonder.
The only one not surprised was Melby.

“And so, I can provide advice on tricks for acquiring the skills I possess.”

“Seventy-one, huh… Even though top-rate adventurers and knights are limited to just over twenty, in this one year――no, in this half a year, he acquired more than three times that many skills.”

Alfred-tousan said in amazement.

“If he possesses that many skills, he’d surely be able to provide advice for the skills we might require.
Yeah, it’s a welcome proposal, Ed.”

“Then, without delay――”

Having earned Dad’s approval, I thought to start the conference at once but,

“W-wait a moment!
We aren’t members of the Chrebl household.
I appreciate the fact that you trust us, but skills aren’t something to carelessly talk to outsiders about!”

Moria-san said, calling a halt to things.

“…I want Moria-san, Elemia, and the others to get stronger too though…”

“That’s a charming proposition, but your family takes precedence.
Furthermore, if our consultations are to be included as well, then everyone should talk to you one-on-one.”

I feel like Moria-san makes a fair point.

“Hmm…. then what to do?”

“In this case, we could prepare a different room. Everyone can leave the party one at a time and Ed can interview us.
…Well, I do question the part where Ed won’t be here despite it being his birthday party though.”

“I guess that’s all we can do…”

And so, the Chrebl Fortification Conference was suspended, and it quickly changed to me conducting individual interviews.

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

We decided to use the parlour as the interview location.
The first interviewee was Alfred-tousan.

His level hasn’t changed since I last used [Appraisal] on him, but his [Leadership] and [Horse Riding Techniques] skills have risen.

“Do you have any concerns during combat?”

“Some concerns, huh… That’s right, I’m poor at archery, and the levels of my magic skills are low, so I don’t have a strong method of dealing with enemies at long range.”

“You said that you didn’t have much of an aptitude for archery, but what about magic?”

“Ah, I have a relatively high aptitude with wind and water as a focus.
It’s just the fire attribute that I have absolutely no aptitude for, and am unable to use it.
I can’t become a mage if I’m no good at [Fire Magic] even if I do have the aptitude for magic, so I came to concentrate on the spear instead.”

“Eh? You can’t become a mage even though you have a high aptitude for wind and water?”

“Oh, you didn’t know?
Whether it be in the army or as adventurers, the attribute in highest demand is [Fire Magic]. That’s because it has powerful offensive spells. At any rate, people can suffer burns just from being toasted by a flame and end up losing the ability to fight.”

“Aren’t there any offensive spells for wind and water?”

“You can’t cause any damage no matter how much water you throw, right?
As for wind, you can send opponents flying or stop their movements if your skill level is high enough, and you can extend the flight of an arrow by casting in its direction so it can be used as combat support, but those can’t be considered offensive spells.
Of course, being able to produce water with magic is beneficial for both soldiers and adventurers, and [Wind Magic] is indispensable when fighting monsters that can spit poisonous mist, but raising one’s skill level to two or three is enough if that’s its only purpose.”

Hmm… For water, what comes to mind is magic that shoots out water at high pressure, but [Water Magic] itself isn’t a magic for applying pressure, so it would probably need to be combined with other magic symbols. The threshold is high because it’s necessary to have an invocation with at least two-symbols.
No, the people of this world don’t know about the concept of “pressure” in the first place.
As a result, [Water Magic] has been reduced to “magic for drinking water”.

On the other hand, what came to mind when speaking of [Wind Magic] was razor wind, but I have heard that razor wind is commonly formed from vacuum blades.
Attacking by sweeping up gravel with the wind? It might be effective in its simplicity, but it feels more like a spell used to obstruct the opponent’s movements rather than an offensive spell.

In that sense, the [Fire Magic] that could cause damage with even a one-symbol invocation was easy to undertake, as well as superior, as offensive magic.
The emissaries of <Yatagarasu> that Dad drove away before also used [Fire Magic] to attack.
Moreover, I haven’t seen any offensive spells that didn’t have the fire attribute in this half a year since I awoke in this world now that I think about it.

“But if I do some trial-and-error with the knowledge of my former world as a foundation, I might be able to come up with some good techniques.”

“In that case, should I be expectant?
After all, Ed fought the leader of <Black Wolf Fang> using [Telekinesis Magic] which is said to have hardly any purpose.”

“…To be honest, I did think of a single thing you could do with both wind and water, but it seems difficult without possessing [Wind Magic] at Master Class at the very least.”

“Master Class, huh.
I’ll just say this but mages who can use Master Class magic are either imperial court magicians or top-class adventurers.”

Dad says in shock.

“But I’ve already grasped the trick to that.
Incidentally, if I can properly use the [Sorcery] skill I obtained recently, I can even influence the mana flow inside the body.
If I use this skill, I can directly teach Dad how to control the spell, so it’s just a matter of time and practise after that.
――Lend me your hand for a bit.”

I place my hand over the hand Dad held out.

“[Water Magic]――would get us soaked, so try using [Wind Magic].”

“Ah, okay… λ (wind).”

Dad used the hand he hadn’t held out to trace the magic symbol and invoke λ.
It’s not at the level of Mum, but his invocation is rather practiced.

I manipulated the movement of mana for that λ, and changed that λ into a small whirlwind.
Moreover, it wasn’t the mana released externally that I was controlling; I directly tampered with the mana that flowed within Dad’s body.
It was as though I was causing Dad to use magic, so to speak.
After the whirlwind spun around above our overlapping hands, it quickly vanished.

“…See?”

“T-that was amazing!
And just now it seemed like I was somehow able to grasp the sensation that I haven’t been able to grasp for years!
―― λ (wind).”

This time, Dad used the magic unassisted.
Just like before, a whirlwind appeared to dance on the palm of Dad’s hand.

Surprised, I looked at Dad with [Appraisal].

《Alfred Chrebl. [Wind Magic] 5 (↑ 1). 》

Yup, his skill level rose in one shot.

“Dad, your skill level rose.”

“Really!? It didn’t increase at all recently, no matter how much I practiced, so I always thought that this was my limit…”

“From what I understood from asking the goddess, apparently simply practicing is no good, it’s important to occasionally change your practice method and increase your ‘understanding’.”

“Hmm… I see.
This is a considerable matter I’m hearing…”

“Anyway, [Spearmanship] is a given, but I’d like you to train your [Water Magic] and [Wind Magic] as well, Dad. If it’s possible, do so until you learn the Master Class [Water Spirit Magic] and [Wind Spirit Magic].”

“It might be possible if Ed helps me.”

“That’s not all, Dad is of Elf descent so I’m sure you’ll be able to acquire [Spirit Magic] as well.
How was your [Aptitude Diagnosis]?”

“Ah, according to Father Solow――”

When I digest Dad’s explanation, it becomes something like the following:

“It’s true that I have the aptitude for [Spirit Magic] but Elves keep [Spirit Magic] a secret. I don’t have the slightest idea about how to learn it.”

“That’s alright. I also acquired it by learning from Melby.”

“Is that true!?”

“Yeah. …Although it feels like quite the discipline, or rather, there’s a mentally taxing aspect.
Well, Dad has a high aptitude for it so it should be fine.”

“But why do you endorse [Spirit Magic] so much?”

“There are a few reasons, but on top of the effect of bringing about a magical phenomenon by calling on spirits, you can freely choose the invocation point, unlike when casting a spell by yourself.
Ordinary spells are generally cast close at hand, but with [Spirit Magic], you can cast spells at a distant location by requesting the spirits at that location. Because of that, the invocation takes some time to cast, but that can be shortened with practice.
In addition to that, although this is something that I’ve yet to achieve myself, I’ve heard that spirits can sometimes be helpful and make a move without being requested to for those with high aptitudes.
Using spirits while fighting with the spear, doesn’t that suit you, Dad?”

“Indeed…”

“Since you have the aptitude for perception-related skills, I think learning [Discern] would be good.
It’s a skill that makes dodging the enemy’s attacks easier, so people who use unarmed combat or wield daggers should acquire it, but once you learn it, it can be applied to other weapons as well. If the skill level is raised, then even attacks from behind can be ‘discerned’ so it’s a skill I’d really like anyone acting as a vanguard to learn.”

“That seems very handy.”

“As for other perception skills, [Eavesdropping] I guess, and I’d like you to have [Sense Presence] if possible.
But Dad is predominantly on the defensive side, so it might be better for you to develop your subordinates into the possessors of those skills.
After all, there probably won’t be much leeway if you’re training in both the spear and magic at the same time.”

“I suppose… How should I put it, wind and water are fine, but ten years of training is usually required to just acquire Master Class magic.”

“In regards to magic, I’d also like to obtain a magic-related title.
I also taught Julia-kaasan about this, but it’s because it’ll become possible to increase your mana pool by exhausting your MP.”

“Title, you say… that’s not something that can be obtained so easily.”

“As far as it goes, I’ve received the divine blessing of Kannumarne, who governs over titles, so it should be easier for it to stick, but it’s impossible for me alone.
Ah, right, speaking of the gods’ divine blessings…”

“What?”

“Dad has the 《Attention of the God of War》, right.
That God of War, Marthrat, was a god known for having a lot of children, so it seems you should have an easier time conceiving children.”

“What did you say!?”

“Apparently it’s hard for you to conceive with Julia-kaasan by nature, but the goddess said that you should be able to since you have the 《Attention of the God of War》.”

When I told him that’s why he should work hard and do his best, his knuckles dropped on my head…

…Isn’t Edgar like the 3rd child already? Under normal circumstances I think that really should be enough, besides if he works harder to have more children, that means it’ll be harder to enjoy nightlife without worrying about the consequences…